Polish Football Federation

Double hundred in Żurawski's sights

Published: Tuesday 31 March 2009, 10.28CET

Veteran Polish forward Maciej Żurawski has set his sights on scoring 200 league goals before he retires, perhaps bringing up the milestone in his homeland as the Larissa FC man, 32, admits he has not ruled out a return.

Double hundred in Żurawski's sights

Veteran Polish forward Maciej Żurawski has set his sights on scoring 200 league goals before he retires, perhaps bringing up the milestone in his homeland as the Larissa FC man, 32, admits he has not ruled out a return.

Veteran Polish forward Maciej Żurawski has set his sights on scoring 200 league goals before he retires, perhaps bringing up the milestone in his homeland as the Larissa FC man admits he has not ruled out a return before calling time on a successful career.

High ambitionsThough Żurawski has not featured for his country since UEFA EURO 2008™, the 32-year-old Larissa FC striker is not short of ambition at club level. "It's unlikely I will return to the national team so I would rather focus on club football," he told uefa.com. "My aim is to score 200 goals in all the leagues I have played in.

Past success"In the Polish Ekstraklasa I scored 120 goals playing for Lech Poznań and Wisła Kraków. Then, I moved to Scotland and scored 22 goals in the Scottish Premier League for Celtic. And since moving to Greece, I have added 14 goals this season and last. That makes 156 league goals already so why not think about 200? My plan is to play about three more years so if I score 15 goals each season, I would reach 200."

Larissa pushWith eight goals, Żurawski is just over halfway there this season and has played a key role in Larissa's push for a UEFA Cup place. He scored 17 times in 72 appearances for Poland, but considers those days behind him. "The national team was nice, but is already in the past for me. My last game for the team was against Germany during EURO 2008. I haven't had much contact with the coaching staff since. Perhaps it's a bit strange nobody called me to say I would not play again, but that's life. On the other hand, I don't feel I deserve to be called up now. I should have scored more goals this season. I have had a lot of opportunities but haven't found the net every time."

UncertainŻurawski's contract with Larissa expires in June and the striker admits his future is uncertain. "I'm not sure what will happen in the summer," he said. "Now, I'm focused on our main goal at Larissa, which is to earn a UEFA Cup place. We're fifth at the moment and that practically gives us what we want so the goal is to defend this position. In the winter, my last Polish club, Wisła Kraków, tried to bring me back.

Future options"There were talks with Larissa officials but I knew the chance was very slim. Larissa were fighting for a UEFA Cup place so they were not interested in letting me go. Maybe the question will be posed again in the summer although I'm not sure. I can only say that if I do return to the Polish league one day, there are only two options – Wisła Kraków or Lech Poznań. These are the clubs where I developed as a player and I cannot imagine playing for another Polish team."

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